#the return of dr fu manchu
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HALLOWEEN-A-THON 2023
New viewings with an asterisk.
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (theatrical version)
Trilogy of Terror
Meg 2: The Trench*
Dracula and Son
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Prom Night (1980)
The Curse of Frankenstein
The Revenge of Frankenstein
The Evil of Frankenstein
Frankenstein Created Woman
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
Howling IV: The Original Nightmare
Land of the Minotaur*
Inferno (1980)
The Beyond
Phantasm: RaVager (The For Rory Edition)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (theatrically)
Frankenstein's Bloody Terror
Horror Express
It! (1967)
Suspiria (1977)
Isle of the Dead
From Beyond the Grave
House of Dark Shadows
Dracula, Prince of Darkness
Assignment Terror
Friday the 13th (1980)
Friday the 13th, Part 2 (Uncut)
Friday the 13th, Part III
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Friday the 13th, Part V: A New Beginning
Jason Lives: Friday the 13th, Part VI
Friday the 13th, Part VII: The New Blood (Uncut)
Friday the 13th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (Extended)
Jason X
Friday the 13th (2009; Rescored)
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein
Phantasm: OblIVion
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
The Face of Fu Manchu
House of Frankenstein
The Devil's Own*
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II
Halloween (2018; The Back in Shape Edition)
House (1986)
Poltergeist (1982)
The Blob (1988)
The Gorgon
Orca
Exorcist II: The Heretic (longer version)
Horror of Dracula (uncut)
Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch
Halloween Kills (The This Is How Halloween Ends Edition)
Demons 2: The Nightmare Returns*
All Hallows' Eve*
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Rasputin, the Mad Monk
Beetlejuice (theatrically)
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Poltergeist III
House of Usher
The Ghost Galleon [of the Blind Dead]
To the Devil a Daughter
Prince of Darkness
Thinner
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Dr. Phibes Rises Again
The Touch of Melissa
Taste the Blood of Dracula
Scars of Dracula
Howling V: The Rebirth (The Your Girlfriend is a Hungarian Werewolf Edition)
Dracula A.D. 1972
The Skull
Bride of Frankenstein
Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (Producer's Cut)
Son of Dracula
Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell
The Werewolf vs. the Vampire Woman
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
Phantasm
The Satanic Rites of Dracula
The City of the Dead
The Devil Rides Out
Halloween (Extended Version)
Halloween II (Theatrical Version)
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
Curse of the Demon (British Version)
Burn, Witch, Burn
Matthew Hopkins, Witchfinder General
The Crimson Cult
Silver Bullet
The Wolf Man (1941)
Carnival of Souls (1962)
Black Sabbath
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Halloween II (TV Version)
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Spider-Man Read-Through 007: Doc Ock Strikes Again! (P1)
MASTERPOST
Annual 4 + ASM 53-61 this time!
A very long post, but there's fun storylines!
So the Human Torch is running amok and unsurprisingly (comics writing), Spider-Man fights him for a bit without asking for an explanation (and the Torch doesn't give him one either) until a movie director intervenes - he was filming a movie! Spider-Man goes away, complaining that Johnny's too good of an actor - but I think the director could have hired him as well. The Torch and the Spider would sure bring people to the movies. And it's actually a plot point of the story (see next screenshots).
In the opening scene, the narrator challenges the readers to figure out who pencilled this issue, and I regret to inform that I'm utterly baffled. Peter has the pretty face of John Romita Sr, but the flat ass of... did Peter ever have a flat ass? I ranted about his inconsistent ass (literally) already, but sounds like it downright downgraded here! ...Still handsome as ever, though.
So yeah, Peter is called on a film set and two characters are conspiring in the shadows and I am intrigued! So they're shooting the movie and Peter's spider-sense keeps warning him and I'm even more intrigued!
I feel like the penciller is Steve Ditko (the previous one) trying to imitate John Romita Sr's style, but maybe it's a newcomer that's promoted through this issue. Through my quick Google Search, I learned (or rather, re-learned) that 1973 and 1974 were drawn by Ross Andru and not John Romita Sr, which does make sense considering how it *is* similar to what I remember, yet a bit different too.
The Torch has gone mad and at this point, I'm starting to wonder if he's actually the Chameleon. And it appears there is truly an impostor, as Johnny's resting in his trailer.
AND SUDDENLY...
It makes sense! The actor background!!!!! Aaaaaaah I'm so hyped, didn't expect to see him!!!!! And who's that other guy?
First, thank you for the fanservice, there's never enough men in tight undershirt and underwear. Legs!!!!
But who's this Wizard?
The helpful wikia indicates that prior to his first appearance in Spider-Man comics (this very one), he was in Strange Tales (later Dr Strange) which makes sense, and also in Fantastic Four. This crossover definitely makes sense! Meanwhile Mysterio has already appeared, but it's still very nice to see him again.
YES! Especially in a 40-pages issue. Let the art speak for itself.
Case in point! These comics had a tendency to be *too* talkative, and it's part of the pacing of the usual 20 pages issue, but still.
Overall, I think it's a great issue! Well-paced, entertaining, surprising, fun! There's a few more pages after that.
Notably this spread.
I don't think they exactly knew they were still gonna be read 60 years later, but it's fun to read this in 2023. Harry calls me out, Peter looks swell as always (VERY swell), Fu Manchu and Woody Allen are here (what a time piece!) and Anna and May are acting like their usual lesbian selves. Once again, good for them!
*swoons*
And they mention how much the artists have to deal with perspective! Nice.
AND...!!!!
YES, YESSSS, YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!
Yes, close your closet, Peter. Wouldn't want Harry to barge right in, would ya? *snickers* Closet jokes are always fun when you're gay.
What a stellar final page. And we learn the penciller was Larry Lieber, who returns one year later for ~the truth about Peter's parents"! I've watched The Amazing Spider-Man movies, folks, I don't think I can be surprised, but stay tuned! Oh, by the way, about Larry Lieber...
Okay, that's what I figured. I thought it could be a family member.
Now then, onto the main course!
We see Octopus again, yay. Peter is notably angrier than he was in Annual 4, which makes sense if you ignore it happened, considering what happened in the previous issues.
Harry's also quite annoyed, unsurprisingly. He loves his roommate, but Peter does have a tendency to be absent... Harry's irritability is similar to earlier issues, where Peter never went out with him and everybody else and seemed quite aloof. Was Spider-Man No More a return to basics?
But Peter is much more interested in bringing Gwen to a science expo, and Warren is overjoyed to see her. Oh boy...
Now kiss.
At the science expo, Octopus intervenes and he still sports the worst haircut ever known to mankind. I wonder if he's stealing the nullifier to sell it to the highest bidder... Could it be Hammerhead? Or the Kingpin?
Stan Lee obviously had something against me, but we're on Tumblr, and modesty shall not prevail! Who could ever think Octopus retconning "If This Be My Destiny" is more important that ogling at Peter?
So yes, Octopus does want to sell the nullifier to another nation.
More importantly, everybody recreates the coffee bar double spread from Annual 4. May and Anna are looking for a third for some nice granny baking time.
PLOT TWIST!!! Look how goofy Octopus is. What a goofball.
This issue was fairly enjoyable, it had more soap than fights, which I'm all for. Dear readers, I am enthralled.
I'm thirsting and also showing the humorous situation. Marivaux would be proud!
Also: more Parksborn domestic love! Yeah Peter, don't let Harry see you mixing fluid... or the content of your closet!
MJ is still incredibly mean to Gwen and this is both outrageously funny but also a bit sad. Aside from this, two gays are jealous of Peter.
And this is iconic. Peter's shocked face, Octopus holding the tea cup like Queen Elizabeth, "I dabble a bit in science myself"...
So Aunt May dies and Peter's understandably angry and I'm HOOKED. Two great issues.
The right panel speaks for itself, Harry is a great comedic character.
The action takes place at Stark Industries, but Tony wasn't paid enough to do a cameo so he lets Spidey will with this mess. And the mess gets worse, as the nullifier makes Peter lose his memories...! My jaw dropped.
This is stupid, but I'm curious to see where this is going.
However, Harry keeps being annoyed at Peter and this is sad because I thought we were over this. But I wonder if it's leading to a big plot point, like Peter's friends giving up on him for a few issues.
But then.
Oh. Oh no. I know where this is going.
This arc highlights once more how full of silent rage Peter really is. He's frustrated. A much more compelling character than Insomniac's Peter.
And it ends with a Peter who's quite affected. I didn't expect Peter's amnesia to stick for this long though! This is very compelling stuff.
Aaaand I've gotta stop here because I can only put 30 pictures in posts. Next time: a relatable guy!
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I just watched The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (1930)
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Holidays 5.2
Holidays
Astronomy Day
Ba Ba Ba Booo Day
Baby Day
Battle of Hogwarts Day (Harry Potter)
Bird L.A. Day (California)
Brothers and Sisters Day
Childhood Depression Awareness Day
Community Day (Spain)
Dos de Mayo Uprising Anniversary Day (Spain)
Fire Day
Flag Day (Poland)
Good Housekeeping Day
Holiday of the Region of Madrid (Spain)
International Harry Potter Day
International Loch Ness Monster Day
International Market Research Day
King James Bible Day
Mad Festival
National Babies Day
National Byron Day
National Curly Hair Day (UK)
National Day of Hiring
National Education Day (Indonesia)
National Fire Day
National Freeman-Sheldon Syndrome Awareness Day
National Life Insurance Day
National Play Your Ukulele Day
National Report Homeland Security Fraud Day
National Sandra Day
Peasant's Day (Burma)
Placebo Day
Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad Day
Robert's Rules of Order Day
Rowdy Friends Day
Scurvy Awareness Day
Sibling Appreciation Day
Take a Baby to Lunch Day
Teachers’ Day (Bhutan, Iran)
Third Druk Gyalpo Day (Bhutan)
Trade Unions House Fire Anniversary (Ukraine)
World Bloggers Day
Food & Drink Celebrations
Green Tea Day (Japan)
National Matcha Day
National Truffles Day
World Tuna Day (UN)
1st Tuesday in May
National Concert Day [1st Tuesday]
National Foster Care Day [1st Tuesday]
National Golf Day [1st Tuesday]
National Teacher Day [Tuesday of 1st full week]
Poem on Your Pillow Day [1st Tuesday]
University Mental Health & Wellbeing Day (Australia) [1st Tuesday]
World Asthma Day [1st Tuesday]
Independence Days
Richensland (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]
Feast Days
Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church).
Athanasius of Alexandria (a.k.a. Athanasius the Great; Western Christianity)
Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)
Demosthenes (Positivist; Saint)
Eve of the Finding of the True Cross
Feast of Osiris (who taught the Egyptians how to brew beer)
Fiesta Dei Serpari (Cocullo, Italy)
Germanus of Normandy (Christian; Saint)
Humane Day
Junior (Muppetism)
Media Ver I (Pagan)
Nina Hartley Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)
Ramen Day (Pastafarian)
Scurvy Awareness Day (Pastafarian)
Zoe (Christian; Saint)
Lucky & Unlucky Days
Lucky Day (Philippines) [25 of 71]
Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]
Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [24 of 60]
Premieres
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Film; 2014)
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (Film; 1997)
Daffy’s Southern Exposure (WB LT Cartoon; 1942)
Disintegration, by The Cure (Album; 1989)
Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Coleman (Book; 1996)
The Firm, by John Grisham (Novel; 1991)
Iron Man (Film; 2008)
The Jack Benny Program (Radio Series; 1932)
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (Film; 1986)
Let It Be Me (WB MM Cartoon; 1936)
Living With War, by Neil Young (Album; 2006)
Made of Honor (Film; 2008)
Miracle on 34th Street (Film; 1947)
Money Heist (TV Series; 2017)
My Favorite Wife (Film; 1940)
No Ordinary Time, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (History Book; 1995)
The Odd Couple (Film; 1968)
Peter and the Wolf, by Sergei Prokofiev (Symphonic Fairy Tale; 1936)
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (Film; 1930)
Southern Fried Rabbit (WB LT Cartoon; 1953)
The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1594)
Tell Laura I Love Her, recorded by Ray Peterson (Song; 1960)
10,000 Days, by Tool (Album; 2006)
The Wacky Rabbit (WB MM Cartoon; 1942)
Waitress (Film; 2007)
Wonderful Tonight, recorded by Eric Clapton (Song; 1977)
X2: X-Men United (Film; 2003)
Today’s Name Days
Athanasius, Boris, Siegmund (Austria)
Boriana, Boris, Borislav, Borislava (Bulgaria)
Atanazije, Boris (Croatia)
Zikmund (Czech Republic)
Athanasius (Denmark)
Maaja, Mai, Maia, Maie, Maiu (Estonia)
Viivi, Vuokko (Finland)
Boris, Zoé (France)
Boris, Siegmund, Zoé (Germany)
Avgerinos, Esperos, Matrona (Greece)
Zsigmond (Hungary)
Atanasio, Efisio (Italy)
Laris, Sigismunds, Visvaris, Zigmunds (Latvia)
Atanazas, Eidmantas, Meilė (Lithuania)
Åsa, Åse (Norway)
Afanazy, Anatol, Atanazy, Longin, Longina, Walenty, Walter, Witomir, Zygmunt (Poland)
Atanasie (Romania)
Tamara (Russia)
Žigmund (Slovakia)
Atanasio, Zoe (Spain)
Filip, Filippa (Sweden)
Bing, Zoe, Zoey, Zolita (USA)
Today is Also…
Day of Year: Day 122 of 2024; 243 days remaining in the year
ISO: Day 2 of week 18 of 2023
Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 17 of 28]
Chinese: Month 3 (Bing-Chen), Day 13 (Geng-Shen)
Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)
Hebrew: 11 Iyar 5783
Islamic: 11 Shawwal 1444
J Cal: 1 Bīja; Oneday [1 of 30]
Julian: 19 April 2023
Moon: 90%: Waxing Gibbous
Positivist: 10 Caesar (5th Month) [Demosthenes]
Runic Half Month: Lagu (Flowing Water) [Day 8 of 15]
Season: Spring (Day 44 of 90)
Zodiac: Taurus (Day 13 of 30)
Calendar Changes
Bīja (J Calendar) [Month 5 of 12]
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Holidays 5.2
Holidays
Astronomy Day
Ba Ba Ba Booo Day
Baby Day
Battle of Hogwarts Day (Harry Potter)
Bird L.A. Day (California)
Brothers and Sisters Day
Childhood Depression Awareness Day
Community Day (Spain)
Dos de Mayo Uprising Anniversary Day (Spain)
Fire Day
Flag Day (Poland)
Good Housekeeping Day
Holiday of the Region of Madrid (Spain)
International Harry Potter Day
International Loch Ness Monster Day
International Market Research Day
King James Bible Day
Mad Festival
National Babies Day
National Byron Day
National Curly Hair Day (UK)
National Day of Hiring
National Education Day (Indonesia)
National Fire Day
National Freeman-Sheldon Syndrome Awareness Day
National Life Insurance Day
National Play Your Ukulele Day
National Report Homeland Security Fraud Day
National Sandra Day
Peasant's Day (Burma)
Placebo Day
Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad Day
Robert's Rules of Order Day
Rowdy Friends Day
Scurvy Awareness Day
Sibling Appreciation Day
Take a Baby to Lunch Day
Teachers’ Day (Bhutan, Iran)
Third Druk Gyalpo Day (Bhutan)
Trade Unions House Fire Anniversary (Ukraine)
World Bloggers Day
Food & Drink Celebrations
Green Tea Day (Japan)
National Matcha Day
National Truffles Day
World Tuna Day (UN)
1st Tuesday in May
National Concert Day [1st Tuesday]
National Foster Care Day [1st Tuesday]
National Golf Day [1st Tuesday]
National Teacher Day [Tuesday of 1st full week]
Poem on Your Pillow Day [1st Tuesday]
University Mental Health & Wellbeing Day (Australia) [1st Tuesday]
World Asthma Day [1st Tuesday]
Independence Days
Richensland (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]
Feast Days
Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church).
Athanasius of Alexandria (a.k.a. Athanasius the Great; Western Christianity)
Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)
Demosthenes (Positivist; Saint)
Eve of the Finding of the True Cross
Feast of Osiris (who taught the Egyptians how to brew beer)
Fiesta Dei Serpari (Cocullo, Italy)
Germanus of Normandy (Christian; Saint)
Humane Day
Junior (Muppetism)
Media Ver I (Pagan)
Nina Hartley Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)
Ramen Day (Pastafarian)
Scurvy Awareness Day (Pastafarian)
Zoe (Christian; Saint)
Lucky & Unlucky Days
Lucky Day (Philippines) [25 of 71]
Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]
Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [24 of 60]
Premieres
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Film; 2014)
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (Film; 1997)
Daffy’s Southern Exposure (WB LT Cartoon; 1942)
Disintegration, by The Cure (Album; 1989)
Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Coleman (Book; 1996)
The Firm, by John Grisham (Novel; 1991)
Iron Man (Film; 2008)
The Jack Benny Program (Radio Series; 1932)
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (Film; 1986)
Let It Be Me (WB MM Cartoon; 1936)
Living With War, by Neil Young (Album; 2006)
Made of Honor (Film; 2008)
Miracle on 34th Street (Film; 1947)
Money Heist (TV Series; 2017)
My Favorite Wife (Film; 1940)
No Ordinary Time, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (History Book; 1995)
The Odd Couple (Film; 1968)
Peter and the Wolf, by Sergei Prokofiev (Symphonic Fairy Tale; 1936)
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (Film; 1930)
Southern Fried Rabbit (WB LT Cartoon; 1953)
The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1594)
Tell Laura I Love Her, recorded by Ray Peterson (Song; 1960)
10,000 Days, by Tool (Album; 2006)
The Wacky Rabbit (WB MM Cartoon; 1942)
Waitress (Film; 2007)
Wonderful Tonight, recorded by Eric Clapton (Song; 1977)
X2: X-Men United (Film; 2003)
Today’s Name Days
Athanasius, Boris, Siegmund (Austria)
Boriana, Boris, Borislav, Borislava (Bulgaria)
Atanazije, Boris (Croatia)
Zikmund (Czech Republic)
Athanasius (Denmark)
Maaja, Mai, Maia, Maie, Maiu (Estonia)
Viivi, Vuokko (Finland)
Boris, Zoé (France)
Boris, Siegmund, Zoé (Germany)
Avgerinos, Esperos, Matrona (Greece)
Zsigmond (Hungary)
Atanasio, Efisio (Italy)
Laris, Sigismunds, Visvaris, Zigmunds (Latvia)
Atanazas, Eidmantas, Meilė (Lithuania)
Åsa, Åse (Norway)
Afanazy, Anatol, Atanazy, Longin, Longina, Walenty, Walter, Witomir, Zygmunt (Poland)
Atanasie (Romania)
Tamara (Russia)
Žigmund (Slovakia)
Atanasio, Zoe (Spain)
Filip, Filippa (Sweden)
Bing, Zoe, Zoey, Zolita (USA)
Today is Also…
Day of Year: Day 122 of 2024; 243 days remaining in the year
ISO: Day 2 of week 18 of 2023
Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 17 of 28]
Chinese: Month 3 (Bing-Chen), Day 13 (Geng-Shen)
Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)
Hebrew: 11 Iyar 5783
Islamic: 11 Shawwal 1444
J Cal: 1 Bīja; Oneday [1 of 30]
Julian: 19 April 2023
Moon: 90%: Waxing Gibbous
Positivist: 10 Caesar (5th Month) [Demosthenes]
Runic Half Month: Lagu (Flowing Water) [Day 8 of 15]
Season: Spring (Day 44 of 90)
Zodiac: Taurus (Day 13 of 30)
Calendar Changes
Bīja (J Calendar) [Month 5 of 12]
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Jean Arthur photographed for The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu, 1930.
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COMIC BOOK REFERENCES & EASTER EGGS - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
The following is a guide to all the comic book references and Easter eggs I’ve spotted in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings along with any deviations from the source material. Note that owing to the convoluted and complex nature of comic books, I’ve tried to include only the most essential information regarding a character’s history and backstories.
In both media, Shang-Chi is known as an expert martial artist. As revealed in Special Marvel Edition #15 (1973), his comic book incarnation was raised at his father’s fortress in China. He was trained to fight by tutors and his father. At nineteen years of age, he was tasked by his father to assassinate Dr James Petrie (In the film, Shang-Chi is sent to kill the leader of the Iron Gang). After completing this assignment (in actuality Shang-Chi had attacked an android facsimile), he meets MI6 agent Sir Denis Nayland Smith, who reveals to him that his father is a criminal and not the noble man he was led to believe growing up. Shang-Chi returns to his father who confirms what he has learned. With this, Shang-Chi leaves, declaring that they are now enemies, and begins a new life in New York. Notably, this version of the character is half Chinese, with his mother being a White American. In the film, Shang-Chi’s mother, Jiang Li, is of Asian descent.
Wenwu is an amalgamation of two characters from the source material: the Mandarin and Fu Manchu. Though he claims to be a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, the comic book incarnation of the Mandarin was born to an unknown Chinese father and English mother who was a prostitute. In addition to being a superb martial artist and tactician, he possesses ten rings (worn on his fingers; in the film, they’re akin to bracelets), each of which grants him a different power. The ring worn on his right thumb allows him to rearrange matter, the ring on his right index finger can generate a concussive force, the one on his right middle finger enables the Mandarin to create a vortex from the air, the one on his right ring finger produces a disintegration beam, the one on his right little finger generates an area of darkness, the ring worn on his left thumb produces a range of electromagnetic energy, the ring on his left index finger can generate heat and flames, the one on his left middle finger discharges electricity, the one on his left ring finger enhances his psionic energy, and the one on his left little finger generates cold and ice. The Mandarin obtained the objects from the wreckage of a spaceship belonging to the Makluans (also known as Kakaranatharian).
In the comics, Fu Manchu is Shang-Chi’s father. He leads the secret organisation Si-Fan and has several bases around the world including one in Hunan, China. He’s a skilled combatant and has lived an extremely long life due to his consumption of the Elixir Vitae (In the MCU, Wenwu’s longevity is attributed to the ten rings). Fu Manchu was created by English author Sax Rohmer and featured in several novels before Marvel acquired the licence to use the character in their comics. With Marvel no longer having the rights to Fu Manchu, in Secret Avengers #8 (2010) it’s revealed that the character’s real name is Zheng Zu, with Fu Manchu being one of several aliases he’s used throughout the years.
While Xialing is a new character created for the film, Shang-Chi does have many siblings in the comics. The first one we learn about is Fah Lo Suee (another Rohmer creation), Shang-Chi’s half-sister. Although she initially sides with her father, she would go on to oppose him. Fah Lo Suee made her first Marvel Comics appearance in Master of Kung Fu #26 (1975). Then there’s Moving Shadow, Shang-Chi’s younger half-brother, who made his debut in Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu #1 (2002). First appearing in Black Panther #11 (2005) is Kwai Far, Shang-Chi’s sister who was offered as a bride to T’Challa. The story “Brothers and Sisters” (Shang-Chi #1-5, 2020-21)—released during production on Shang-Chi—would reveal the existence of even more siblings: Brother Staff, Shi-Hua/Sister Hammer, Takeshi/Brother Sabre, and Esme/Sister Dagger.
The Golden Daggers club is a reference to the Golden Dagger Sect of the comics, a criminal organisation led by Fah Lo Suee.
The comic book incarnation of Li Ching-Lin/Death-Dealer is an assassin and former MI6 agent who worked for Fu Manchu. He’s an experienced martial artist who wields triple-bladed weapons.
Several characters have used the Razor-Fist moniker in the comics. The first was William Young, who made his debut in Master of Kung Fu #29 (1975). Later, brothers Douglas and William Scott took on the identity. The pair first appeared in Master of Kung Fu #105 (1981). All three Razor-Fists have worked for drug lord Carlton Velcro. As their name implies, each of the Razor-Fists have had one or both their hands replaced with steel blades. The MCU version of Razor Fist, with his connection to the Ten Rings, may be partially based on the Razor Fist from Earth-13116. In this reality, the character is a student at the Ten Rings martial arts school (with the Master of the Ten Rings, Zheng Zu, being the emperor of K’un Lun).
In the comics, Ta-Lo is an extradimensional realm that’s home to the Xian (or Taoist gods). Creatures such as fenghuang, dragons, and haetae also inhabit the dimension. It made its first appearance in Thor #301 (1980).
In the film, the creature trapped in Ta Lo is referred to as the Dweller-in-Darkness. The comic book incarnation of the Dweller-in-Darkness originates from the Everinnye dimension and exists only as a head (though does use a robotic body). The Dweller-in-Darkness has the ability to cause others to feel fear, which he feeds off, making him more powerful.
There are also several MCU Easter eggs. The Blip is referenced on a poster while the Snap is alluded to by one of Shang-Chi’s friends. The street vendor from Spider-Man: Homecoming is a passenger on the bus when Shang-Chi fights Razor Fist. The Abomination (who now appears more reptilian per his comic book counterpart) fights Wong at the Golden Daggers club. Other contestants at the club include an Extremis soldier and an Asian Black Widow (we find out that her name is Helen). Wenwu watches footage of Tony Stark being held captive by the Ten Rings (taken from Iron Man). Wenwu holds Trevor Slattery prisoner having broken the actor free from Seagate Prison in All Hail the King. Shang-Chi meets Bruce Banner and Captain Marvel in the mid-credits scene.
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#Shang-Chi#Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings#Marvel#Marvel Studios#MCU#Marvel Cinematic Universe#Easter eggs#Wenwu#Wong#Mandarin#Fu Manchu#Ten Rings#Ta Lo#Xialing
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Would you consider Hugo Strange a pulp villain?
Yes. And I would argue that he didn't really stop being one even after his revival.
"Professor Hugo Strange, the most dangerous man in the world! Scientist, philosopher and a criminal genius - little is known of him, yet this man is undoubtly the greatest organizer of crime in the world! - Bruce Wayne, Detective Comics #36
Hugo Strange was created with the intention of being Batman's arch-enemy right from the start, introduced as such by Bruce when he figures out he's responsible for the G-man assassination, pretty explicitly intended to be Batman's Moriarty and with even an equivalent demise. He was big enough to tower over his henchmen and fistfight Batman, he had a uniquely deformed skull, he was both a charismatic but threatening crimelord as well as a mad scientist plotting to TAKE OVER THE WORLD, and I've heard before the argument that the Monster Men were taken from a Doc Savage novel released earlier the same year called The World's Fair Goblin that revolves around a giant mutated man doing crimes under command by the story's villain
That poor devil, Maximus, was a Fair visitor himself, once. He was given injections of thyroxine and adrenalin—and changed rapidly into a pituitary giant. But, in the experiment, his will power was destroyed. Now he only follows the directions of that masked devil who has him hypnotized
He said, "The Man of Tomorrow stuff was merely publicity to draw the Fair crowds—and a shield to cover your own experiments. But the masked surgeon cashed in on it. Obviously he is mad enough to really believe a superman can be created." - The World's Fair Goblin
(Considering Lester Dent had taken potshots at Superman explicitly in "Whisker of Hercules", it's not unlikely that this is an explicit reference)
Although there's really no overlap in the stories besides that, as The World's Fair Goblin only had one giant where as Hugo mutated a couple dozen mentally ill patients to create monsters and then used them to go on mass murdering rampages, because Batman has always been over-the-top. But, yeah, original form Hugo was a pretty cut and dry pulp villain, like most of Batman's villains who debuted prior to 1940. Which is part of why he only had about 3 appearences before they killed him off.
By this point, Batman was in the process of moving away from his pulp knock-off origins into more of his own character, with the introduction of Robin and Dick Tracy cartoon villains that would set the tone for the rest of Batman in the Golden Age, and with the debut of Joker and Catwoman in Batman #1, Hugo was already obsolete as an arch-enemy, and was killed off the following appearence.
Of course, if you know Hugo Strange, you likely already know this, and that he was then revived in the 70s by Marshall Rogers with a brilliant take that stuck to the character's origins as a brilliant crimelord and scientific genius, but also added to him a specifically twisted psychological bent of being obsessed with Batman and becoming Batman, a villain of unshakeable will and even a twisted sense of honor and ethics, refusing to divulge Batman's secret identity even while beaten to death.
And from that moment onwards Hugo would go on to have some of the most consistently brilliant appearences out of any Batman villain (at least until the 2010s) and would secure himself as a mainstay, albeit a very obscure one, figure of Batman, the kind of villain whose plots can range from Born Again-esque subtle destructions of a person's life to a rampage of mutant kaijus on downtown Gotham, and like many of the best Batman villains, it all comes back to a central obsession and psychological edge upon Batman, and the weaponizing and destruction of anything that stands in his way.
You could argue Hugo Strange used to be a cut and dry pulp villain who was eventually reimagined as a Batman Villain, and it would even be somewhat fitting of his in-universe trajectory as a man who started out a career as a figure of prestige and respect, effortlessly able to blend in society, until his repeated encounters with Batman and, most importantly, his gradually increasing obsession with becoming Batman, gradually destroyed him until he's no longer the one ruling the madhouse, but instead trapped in it.
But the reason why I'd argue Hugo Strange is still a Pulp Villain is because his reinventions didn't shed away what he used to be, they merely returned him to his true origins. Because Hugo, you see, is not just a Mad Scientist or Mad Psychologist, Batman's got those by the dozens. Hugo is of a particularly nasty kind of Pulp Villain, who came to existence around the same time as the Mad Scientist if not slightly earlier, an archetype Jess Nevins has named The Evil Surgeon
Medicine has arguably thrown up more serial killers than all the other professions put together, with nursing a close second - Herbert Kinnel, former chairman of the British Medical Association
The Evil Surgeon came to existence as a pop culture archetype in the late 19th century, as the result of serial killers like Jack the Ripper and H.H Holmes making the news, with Doctor Quartz from Nick Carter being first and foremost among these, as the main arch-enemy of the most published character worldwide at the time.
He would be followed years later by H.G Wells's Doctor Moreau, and the likes of Dr Caresco and Professor Tornada, the stars of novels created by André Couvreur, who was himself a medical doctor and used these novels to both condemn the characters as well as give serious consideration to the ideas they explored, and depicted Dr Caresco's over-the-top exploits harkening back to stories about Marquis de Sade (the origin of the term "sadist"). These would be followed by characters like Grigorii Trirodov, Dr Cornelius Kramm, Dr Gogol from Mad Love, currently the most famous example of this seems to be Hannibal Lecter. And Hugo has been operating much more along the lines of those characters in the last decades, than the typical mad scientists he was once designed in reference to.
Of course there's a massive overlap between the two and room to dispute whether they even constitute separate archetypes, they practically came to existence together following the footsteps of Victor Frankenstein, who really isn't a true example of a Mad Scientist in the original novel, and wasn't even a real doctor, but Frankenstein's reputation undeniably is the oldest cultural touchstone we can point to as an influence in the archetype, even if said archetype would only truly take form in pulp magazines and serials.
What I'd argue defines the Evil Surgeon as an archetype specifically, is that they are specifically centered around the violation and destruction of the human body and function more as murderers with budgets, than supervillains in labcoats. Mad Scientists are generally more centered around plots closer to sci-fi/fantasy inventions like sentient robots and immortality potions used for large scale global domination, where as Evil Surgeons are more preoccupied with wielding psychology and torture and criminal resources to get away with destroying minds on more individual scales, or turning cities into slaughterhouses for them to work in.
They aren't quite full blown slasher villains, like Zsasz or Professor Pyg, instead they usually tend to be quite good at passing off as respectable, mentally sound figures of moral standing, and usually possess a sense of purpose towards their work, a goal they are working for by piling corpses atop each other and moving resources to achieve, even if said goal is a purely selfish fulfillment of their own desires. It's quite common for these characters to acquire large bases for them to operate in, even islands specifically.
In Caresco Surhomme, Caresco has taken control of the Pacific island of Eucrasia. Caresco applies his surgical methods to the inhabitants of the island, altering them to better do their jobs. The captain of the plane which brings outsiders to Eucrasia is a limbless trunk with telescopic vision. Even the island itself is in the shape of a human body. The natives of Eucrasia are addicted to various sensual pleasures and generally submit to Caresco’s rule, for fear that he will castrate them or worse.
On Eucrasia, Caresco makes use of “omnium,” a mysterious and unexplained power source, to create: a machine capable of stripping the years from human bodies and reversing the aging process, a fast underground train system, food pills, omnium-powered diving suits, and so on. Caresco is given to such things as collecting the spleens of all those he operates on - Jess Nevins, The Encyclopedia of Pulp Heroes
So, yes, I absolutely would argue Hugo Strange is still a Pulp Villain. Pulp villains do come in many different forms other than the Fu Manchus and Fantomases that are most commonly imitated, pulp was the breeding ground of the supervillain as a concept after all, where they got to star in their own magazines time and time again. Hugo started off as a fairly generic one, and when he's written poorly, he tends to be brought onboard of a story purely because it calls for a mad scientist.
But Strange came back from death as something much, much worse than just a crimelord and mad scientist, a much more rare and much nastier type of villain that, much like Hugo himself, may lie dormant, but refuses to stay dead for long.
"Quincy. My servant. My friend," Hugo said. "We don't have much time."
Quincy was crying again, with joy. "How, master, how did you-?"
The therapy, Quincy realized. The hypnosis. The drugs.
"Stay with me master, please!" Quincy tried to grab hold a phantom hand.
"I cannot." Strange said, looking benevolently down at Quincy, stroking his hair with a touch the prisoner couldn't feel. "But there is one last service you can perform me."
"Anything, Hugo, please."
"First, remove the sheet from your bed, Quincy. And tie it to the light-fixture on the ceiling."
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Clara Bow and William Austin in It (1927). Bill was born in Georgetown, Guyana, and had 92 acting credits from 1920 to 1947. His other notable credits include Fig Leaves, The Mysterious Dr Fu Manchu, The Private Life of Henry VIII, Alice in Wonderland, The Gay Divorcee, an uncredited bit in Imitation of Life, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of the Vampire, and uncredited bits in Topper Takes a Trip and National Velvet.
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Here Are All The Classic Horror Movies TCM Will Be Airing (Commercial Free!) This October
Friday, October 2,2020
Dracula
8:00pm – Dracula (1931)
11:00pm – House on Haunted Hill (1958)
12:30am – The Haunting (1963)
Monday, October 5, 2020
4:30pm – Blood and Black Lace (1964)
Friday, October 9, 2020
Night of the Living Dead
8:00pm – The Ghoul (1933)
9:30pm – The Black Sleep (1956)
11:00pm – Mark of the Vampire (1935)
12:15am – Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Monday, October 12, 2020
6:00am – The Reptile (1966)
7:45am – The Killer Shrews (1959)
9:00am – King Kong (1933)
11:00am – The Beast From 20,000 (1953)
12:30pm – Godzilla (1954)
2:00pm – Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
3:30pm – Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)
4:45pm – The Green Slime (1969)
6:30pm – Night of the Lepus (1972)
9:30pm – Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965)
11:00pm – Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966)
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
The Devil Doll
2:30pm – The Thirteenth Chair (1929)
4:00pm – Freaks (1932)
5:15pm – Mark of the Vampire (1935)
6:30pm – The Devil-Doll (1936)
Friday, October 16, 2020
8:00am – Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
9:15am – Village of the Damned (1960)
10:45am – The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962)
12:15pm – Carnival of Souls (1962)
1:45pm – Dementia 13 (1963)
3:15pm – The Raven (1963)
4:45pm – Spider Baby (1964)
6:15pm – The Nanny (1965)
8:00pm – Dead of Night (1945)
10:00pm – Twice-Told Tales (1963)
12:15am – Black Sabbath (1963)
Saturday, October 17, 2020
5:45pm – Rollerball (1975)
Sunday, October 18, 2020
The Fearless Vampire Killers
1:45am – The Fearless Vampire Killers (1966)
3:45am – House of Dark Shadows (1970)
Monday, October 19, 2020
9:30pm – Horror of Dracula (1958)
11:15pm – The Mummy (1959)
1:00am – The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Frankenstein Created Woman
2:45am – Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
4:30am – Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1970)
Thursday, October 22, 2020
11:30pm – The Mystery Of The Wax Museum (1968)
1:00am – Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Friday, October 23, 2020
Creature from the Black Lagoon
8:00pm – Creature of Black Lagoon (1954)
9:30pm – The Blob (1958)
11:15pm – The Tingler (1959)
12:45pm – The Thing From Another World (1951)
Saturday, October 24, 2020
2:15pm – Brainstorm (1983)
1:45am – The Werewolf (1956)
Sunday, October 25, 2020
5:00am – The Mummy (1932)
5:30pm – What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962)
Monday, October 26, 2020
Eyes Without A Face
4:15am – Eyes Without a Face
8:00pm – Nothing But the Night (1972)
9:45pm – Madhouse (1974)
11:30pm – From Beyond the Grave (1973)
1:30am – Scream and Scream Again (1970)
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
3:15am – The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)
4:45am – Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
Thursday, October 29, 2020
From Hell it Came
7:00am – The Devil-Doll (1936)
11:00am – Tormented (1960)
2:15pm – Night of Dark Shadows (1971)
4:00pm – Indestructible Man (1956)
5:15pm – From Hell It Came (1957)
6:30pm – Death Curse of Tartu
Friday, October 30, 2020
6:30am – Doctor X (1932)
8:00am – The Mask Of Fu Manchu (1932)
9:30am – The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
10:45am – Island of Lost Souls (1932)
12:00pm – White Zombie (1932)
1:30pm – The Vampire Bat (1933)
2:45pm – The Mystery Of The Wax Museum (1933)
4:15pm – Mad Love (1935)
5:30pm – The Walking Dead (1936)
6:45pm – The Return of Doctor X (1939)
8:00pm – The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959)
9:15pm – Eye of the Devil (1966)
11:00pm – The Devil Rides Out (1968)
12:45am – The Wicker Man ((1974)
Saturday, October 31, 2020
The Body Snatcher
6:00am – Freaks (1932)
7:15am – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
9:00am – House of Wax (1953)
10:45am – Children of the Damned (1964)
12:30pm – The Bad Seed (1956)
4:45pm – The Wolf Man (1941)
6:00pm – The Haunting (1963)
10:00pm – Them! (1954)
12:00am – The Seventh Victim (1943)
1:30am – I Walked With A Zombie (1943)
3:00am – The Body Snatcher (1945)
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The first Fu Manchu movies
Warner Oland as Fu Manchu:
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929)
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (1930)
Daughter of the Dragon (1931)
Boris Karloff as Fu Manchu:
The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
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Halloween-a-thon 2021
From late September 30th to early hours of November 1st.
*Demarcates previously-unseen title
1. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (theatrical version)
2. The Innocents
3. Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein
4. Friday the 13th, Part 2
5. Inferno
6. The Seventh Victim*
7. Young Hannah, Queen of the Vampires*
8. 7 Doors of Death
9, The Fog (1980)
10. Phantasm: RaVager (The For Rory Edition)
11, The Evil Dead (theatrically)
12. Evil Dead II
13. Terror Train
14. Frankenstein (1931)
15. Tales of Terror
16. Jaws 2
17. Halloween II (TV Version)
18. I Walked With a Zombie
19. Night Creatures
20. The Face of Fu Manchu
21. Phantasm: OblIVion
22. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
23. Halloween Kills (theatrically)*
24. Halloween 9 (The Back in Shape Edition)
25. Son of Frankenstein
26. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II
27. Race With the Devil
28. The Gorgon
29. 100 Ghost Stories
30. Curse of the Blind Dead*
31. Along With Ghosts
32. The Great Yokai War
33. Dracula, Prince of Darkness
34. Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
35. Taste the Blood of Dracula
36. Frankenstein Created Woman
37. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
38. Dracula A.D. 1972
39. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
40. Halloween III: Season of the Witch
41. Amityville II: The Possession
42. Crescendo*
43. Prince of Darkness
44. The Werewolf vs. the Vampire Woman
45. Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell
46. Suspiria (1977)
47. Phantasm
48. House of Frankenstein
49. The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
50. A Nightmare on Elm Street
51. The Devil Rides Out
52. Black Sunday
53. Straight-Jacket
54. Freddy vs. Jason (TV Version)
55. Vampyr*
56. Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages
57. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
58. Amityville Horror: The Evil Escapes (theatrically)*
59. Scars of Dracula
60. The Satanic Rites of Dracula
61. Dracula's Daughter
62. Son of Dracula
63. The Abominable Dr. Phibes
64. Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (producer's cut)
65. The Curse of Frankenstein
66. Exorcist II: The Heretic
67. The Invisible Man (1933; theatrically)
68. The Wolf Man (1941; theatrically)
69. Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster
70. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
71. Howling V: The Rebirth (The Your Girlfriend is a Hungarian Werewolf Edition)
72. Let's Scare Jessica to Death
73. The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
74. Curse of the Demon
75. The City of the Dead
76. Horror of Dracula (uncut)
77. Halloween (Extended)
78. Halloween II
79. Terror in the Aisles
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Jean Arthur, October 17, 1900 - June 19, 1991.
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (1930).
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I'm watching The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (1930)
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The movie monster of SE22
LEGENDARY HORROR ACTOR BORIS KARLOFF WAS BORN IN EAST DULWICH. WE FOLLOW IN HIS FOOTSTEPS FROM FOREST HILL ROAD TO FRANKENSTEIN
BY MARK BRYANT
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of film, TV and theatre actor Boris Karloff (1887-1969), best known as the monster in three classic, black-and-white horror films based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein. Not only was Karloff born in East Dulwich, but four of his brothers were educated at Dulwich College and the area has a number of other connections to his life and work.
Karloff, whose real name was William Henry Pratt, was the 10th surviving child of Edward John Pratt, an Anglo-Indian diplomat who had worked as an assistant collector for the Indian Salt Revenue Service in Bombay, before retiring and moving to London in the 1870s with his third wife Eliza and their seven children.
At the time of the 1881 census the family were living at 23 Landcroft Road, which runs parallel to Lordship Lane between Crystal Palace Road and Whateley Road in East Dulwich. Edward’s ninth child (and seventh son) Richard Septimus Pratt was born there in 1882.
By 1887 the family had moved to 15 Forest Hill Road (later renumbered as 36) and it was here – as recorded by an English Heritage blue plaque above what is now a fish-and-chip shop – that their youngest child, William Henry Pratt (known as Billy) entered the world on November 23, 1887. At the time of his birth, his father was 60 years old.
Karloff’s mother, Eliza Sarah Millard, was the Indian-born daughter of a sergeant-major in the British Army in India. Her aunt was Anna Leonowens, who was governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam (now Thailand) and was immortalised in Margaret Landon’s bestseller Anna and the King of Siam (1944) and later in the award-winning film The King and I (1956) starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr.
The young Karloff had two older sisters: his half-sibling Emma, who was his father’s adult daughter by his first marriage to Julienne Campbell and was born in 1850; and Julia, born in 1874. He also had seven older brothers. Of these, the four eldest were educated at Dulwich College, where they were contemporaries of the writer AEW Mason and philosopher GE Moore.
His oldest brother, Edward Millard Pratt (1865-1949), became a judge in Bombay High Court, and the others all achieved distinction in their chosen careers, notably the sixth son, Sir John Thomas Pratt (1876-1970), who was British consul-general in China, adviser on Far Eastern affairs for the Foreign Office and vice-chairman of the governing body of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
The only sibling who showed any theatrical inclinations was the second son, George Marlow Pratt (1867-1904), who worked for a time under the name “George Marlowe” as an actor in the West End but died in his 30s.
In 1888, when Karloff was one year old, his father abandoned the family and by 1891 his mother and the children had moved to a smaller, cheaper house on nearby Friern Road. Then, in 1893, when Karloff was seven, he moved to stay with his half-sister Emma – now aged 43 – in Enfield, Middlesex.
Here he attended Enfield Grammar School before moving to Merchant Taylors’ School in London – where his brother Richard had studied before him – and then to Uppingham School, a private boarding school in Rutland.
He later attended King’s College London, intending to take the exams required to enter the diplomatic service like other members of his family. But in 1909 he decided to give up his studies and sailed to Canada.
At first he worked as a manual labourer in various parts of the country, until one day in Vancouver in 1910 he bumped into Henry Hayman Claudet (son of the pioneer photographer Francis George Claudet), an old Dulwich College friend of his brother John.
As he later recalled: “I was wondering what to do next when a man stopped me in the street and asked if my name was Pratt. I said it was.
“The man was a school friend of my brother Jack at Dulwich and he recognised the likeness. He gave me a note to the works superintendent of the British Columbia Railway and I got a job at 28 cents an hour with a pick and shovel laying tracks.”
Karloff later became a real-estate salesman before starting work in repertory theatre, changing his name from Billy Pratt to Boris Karloff and beginning with the Jeanne Russell Company in Kamloops, British Columbia.
On the outbreak of war in 1914 he volunteered for the British Army but was rejected on health grounds. He therefore continued to act in plays and silent films in Canada and later the USA.
His first screen appearance was as an extra in The Dumb Girl of Portici (1916), which was also the only film starring the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. However, he soon began to make his name, with a standout role as the mesmerist in silent film The Bells (1926). This film has a Dulwich connection, as the play on which it is based launched the career of the famous Victorian actor Sir Henry Irving, who laid the foundation stone of Dulwich Library in 1896.
Other films in which Karloff starred also had links with the Dulwich area. Six years after The Bells, he played the sinister criminal mastermind Fu Manchu in the black-and-white talking picture, The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), which was based on the fifth of a series of novels by local author Sax Rohmer (real name Arthur Henry Ward), who lived in Herne Hill.
Then the following year, after appearing in The Mummy (1932), he returned to the UK to make The Ghoul (1933) – the first major British horror film of the sound era – thereby reuniting with his family after more than two decades in North America.
In this film (which also features Ralph Richardson in his first ever speaking part) his co-star was Kathleen Harrison, who had been to school in Clapham and whose father was borough engineer for Southwark.
But he is best known for playing the monster in Frankenstein (1931) – his 81st movie – and its two sequels. By coincidence, the bosses at Universal Pictures, the studio that made the film, had originally wanted the part of Dr Frankenstein to be played by Old Alleynian Leslie Howard, but the director James Whale had other ideas and the role went to Colin Clive. In another curious link, Howard’s son Ronald (himself also an actor who was born in South Norwood) later starred in two 1961 episodes of Karloff’s American TV series Thriller.
In Bride of Frankenstein (1935) the female lead was Elsa Lanchester, who was born in Catford and later married the actor Charles Laughton, who starred in numerous films. Among them was Payment Deferred (1932), based on the novel of the same name by Old Alleynian author CS Forester, which was itself set in Dulwich.
During the filming of the third movie, Son of Frankenstein (1939), Karloff’s wife Dorothy gave birth to his first and only child, a daughter called Sara, and Karloff reputedly rushed from the film set to the hospital while still in full monster makeup.
Though he appeared in two later Frankenstein films, House of Frankenstein (1944) and Frankenstein 1970 (1958), he played the part of the mad scientist, not the monster.
However, he never starred in any of the seven Frankenstein-themed horror movies produced by Hammer Films from 1957 to 1974. Six of these have a link with south London as they featured Peter Cushing as Dr Frankenstein, whose family lived in Dulwich during the First World War. Cushing also starred as the archeologist in Hammer’s The Mummy (1959), while the archeologist in The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964) was played by Ronald Howard.
Karloff’s later successes included playing himself in the original Broadway stage version of the black comedy Arsenic and Old Lace (1941), in which one of the characters receives plastic surgery to look like Boris Karloff. Although he was unable to star in the 1944 Cary Grant film version of the play (as he was still acting the part on Broadway) Karloff reprised the role in TV versions in 1955 and 1962.
Other notable Karloff films with south London links include The Body Snatcher (1945) and Grip of the Strangler (1958). The former was based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson, whose novels Treasure Island, Kidnapped and The Black Arrow all first appeared (in serial form, before they were books) in Young Folks magazine, published by Dulwich press magnate James Henderson.
Grip of the Strangler, which was based on a story written specially for Karloff by his friend Jan Read, also features two actresses with local links: Brixton-born Jean Kent and Camberwell-born Dorothy Gordon.
In 1959, shortly after the release of Grip of the Strangler, Karloff retired with his fifth wife Evelyn – whom he married in 1946 – to “Roundabout”, his country cottage in the village of Bramshott, Hampshire, to enjoy gardening and cricket (though he still accepted small roles). He had been a keen cricketer throughout his life and when in Hollywood, he was an actor-member of the Hollywood Cricket Club along with Leslie Howard and Clive Brook, another Old Alleynian.
One of the last of Karloff’s cinematic appearances was as the voice of the Grinch in the 1966 animated film How the Grinch Stole Christmas, based on the children’s story by Dr Seuss. The original film, which Karloff also narrated, was shown in Dulwich last Christmas at a special screening to coincide with the release of The Grinch, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. It was shown at the East Dulwich Picturehouse on Lordship Lane, less than a mile from the Forest Hill Road home in which Karloff was born.
Dr Mark Bryant lives in East Dulwich. By coincidence his own stepbrother’s surname is Pratt (though, as far as the family knows, he is not a relation of Boris Karloff...)
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The first movie featuring Fu Manchu was the British silent “The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu” in 1923 with Harry Agar Lyons.
The first American movie was “The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu” in 1929 with Warner Oland. Oland would also play Fu Manchu in “The Return of Fu Manchu” in 1930 and “Daughter of the Dragon” in 1931.
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